


The Sticky Wicket

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2421776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You know that I will always have your back no matter what.  Yes, no, or maybe, I’ll be here.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sticky Wicket

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the alphabet meme and [](http://kosmickway.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://kosmickway.livejournal.com/)**kosmickway** ’s prompt of **M is for marshmallows**. I wasn’t expecting this story when I started writing. Those are my favorite kind.

On Tuesday afternoon she had a peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich. She wasn’t a fan of peanut butter or marshmallow but had been craving it for days. It was delicious. So was the fluff she spread on crackers later that evening. On Wednesday it was Jet-puffed marshmallows right out of the bag.

She ate nearly the whole bag, until nausea sent her into the bathroom. It all came back up and didn’t feel as good as it felt going down. Erin groaned, her head resting on the side of the toilet. This was the second day in a row that she’d vomited…something she hated doing. It was strange as she didn’t feel sick most of the day but in the evening she would eat something and it sent her straight to the bathroom.

A part of her wanted to call Dave, let him know she wasn’t well. Erin didn’t want to worry him even though she was worried herself. On Thursday she had three scoops of vanilla ice cream with hot marshmallows, caramel, and whipped cream. It made her stomach flip-flop so when she was done, Erin drank two glasses of ginger ale. It was hard to sleep that night and finally close to sunrise she was back in the bathroom, getting rid of the dessert and what little she’d eaten the night before.

Fear flashed through her mind as she hunched over the toilet. The last time she was this sick was when she was pregnant with Ted. She’d never been so sick in her life…spent much of the pregnancy on bed rest. Oh my God, could she be pregnant? Erin almost laughed except her stomach was lurching again and she was dry heaving into the toilet.

Pregnant at 52, it only happened on the soaps. Didn’t it? She and Dave weren't using protection; they stopped over a year ago. She wasn’t on any kind of birth control. She didn’t think she needed to be.

She’d been craving marshmallows something fierce all week. The week before that it was peanuts; buffalo wings a week before that. Was this really happening? When she got the strength to get up off the bathroom floor and clean herself up, Erin went back to the bedroom. She curled up in bed and hit 2 on her cell phone. She listened to it ring and ring; voicemail was going to pick up.

‘ _This is Dave, please leave a message_ ’.

“Hi, it’s me. I was just wondering when you're coming home. I know I usually don’t bother you when you're in the field but I'm not feeling well and I just wish you were here. I love you, David. Bye.”

Hanging up, she just curled in bed and tried not to cry. Erin Strauss wasn’t a crier but something was wrong. It just couldn’t be what she thought it was. It could be but that just seemed impossible. Fucking marshmallows; she didn’t even like marshmallows.

***

“Knock, knock.”

“Come in.”

“I'm back.” Dave poked his head into Erin’s office the next night. It was late but instead of heading straight home from the tarmac he came back to Quantico. He knew she was a workaholic; was willing to bet a month’s pay she was still there. It didn’t matter that it was almost ten o’clock.

“I missed you.” not caring at all about protocol or the possibility of video cameras all over her office, Erin rushed into his arms.

“I missed you too.” Dave held tight to her, inhaling the scent of Pleasures. He was going to have to take some with him when he left again. “I got your message but things were a little intense the past few days. I really meant to call…”

“It’s OK.” She cut him off.

“It’s not OK. You didn’t sound good on the message. What's the matter, baby?”

“I don’t want to talk about it here.” Erin pulled out of his embrace. She cleared her throat and put her Strauss mask back on. “Can we just go home?”

“Whose home?” Dave asked. He watched her pack up her things for the night. She was moving around like a Stepford wife on a mission. Things were not OK.

“I don’t care.”

“Then I pick mine. It’s been a while since I've hugged my dog. I've hugged my girl and now I need to see The Mudge.”

Erin just nodded and turned out the light. She walked out of the office; Dave had no choice but to follow her. The ride down on the elevator was quiet…too quiet. There were a thousand things he wanted to say but they all sounded weird on the tip of Dave’s tongue. He looked at her a few times; Erin seemed to be someplace deep in her head.

“Something’s wrong.” He said as the elevator door opened.

“I said I didn’t want to talk about it here, David. The whole damn place is bugged. I'm sure of it.”

“OK, I'm sorry.”

The silence crept back in. They signed out for the night and walked out into the vast parking lot. It was raining; it had a tendency to do that in April. Dave loved spring. The trees came alive again, the birds, the flowers, the world. Life always renewed after sometimes harsh winters.

He was a fan of seasons; remembered them fondly from his youth on Long Island. Spring was his favorite but the rain tonight wasn’t helping the mood or his weary bones. Sometimes he swore he was getting too old for this shit. He took Erin’s briefcase, put it in the trunk of his Mangusta, and then opened the passenger side door for her. After she slid in, he closed it and got into the driver’s side.

“Your tone on the voicemail you left upset me.” He said, starting the car and flicking on the windshield wipers. “You sounded upset, Erin…you sounded scared. I hated that I couldn’t call you back. All I wanted to do was get home to you and now…”

“I wasn’t scared, I was sick.” She lied. “I hate being sick and I guess I felt like someone should be there to hold me. That’s you now isn’t it?”

“When you put up with me, yes it is.” He reached over for her hand. “Are you still sick?”

“A little. I stopped eating the marshmallows.”

“Well that’s good.” Dave nodded as he pulled out of his parking space. He made his way to the exit as the rain came down at a steadier pace. On a good night it was 45 minutes home. Rarely in this area were there good nights. Add rain to the mix and Dave could be looking at and hour and a half.

Music, this kind of ride needed music. He flipped on the radio…Anita Baker was playing on the smooth jazz station. The good news was that he loved Anita Baker. The better news was that she always put Erin in the mood.

“What do marshmallows have to do with it?” he asked. He didn’t want Erin to think he wasn’t paying attention to her. Even if she was being cryptic.

“I've been craving them for a week. I don’t even like marshmallows, David.”

“I was gonna say. You're the woman who doesn’t eat S’Mores. That still boggles my mind.”

“I think I might be pregnant.”

He hadn't meant to hit the brakes so hard. Thank God no one was behind him because that was just an accident waiting to happen. Both he and Erin lurched forward but the seatbelts kept them from flying the through the windshield. He looked at her with wide brown eyes but Erin stared straight ahead. She focused on the windshield wipers as if in a hypnotic trance.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“No, I'm not sure, David. And I know I shouldn’t even bring it up since it’s a maybe but…”

“Hey, hey.” Dave pulled the car over. He took Erin’s face into his hands. “You know that I will always have your back no matter what. Yes, no, or maybe, I’ll be here.”

“I just…” She sighed. “We need to go home.”

“OK.”

Dave checked his mirror and pulled back onto the road. The weather was bad, there was a fair amount of traffic, and he decided to drive slowly. It was hard to drive normal anyway since his mind was blown. There were few things that could knock Dave off his stride these days. His experience in and out of the FBI made surprising the veteran Agent almost impossible.

Erin possibly being pregnant was a hell of a surprise. A part of him thought it was improbable. Another part of him wondered what Baby Strauss-Rossi would be like. It would have her eyes for sure; his ears, her laugh, and his temperament. A daughter would drive Erin up a wall and a son would make Dave beam. Oh my God, could this be happening?

“You were really craving marshmallows?” He asked. When he opened his mouth that’s what came out.

“I ate almost a whole bag the other night.” Erin shuddered just thinking about it.

“And you're late, you know your…” yes, he was 55 years old and still had trouble saying it.

“Three weeks. I didn’t even realize until I started putting two and two together last night. I seriously didn’t think this was an issue.”

“Me neither. But still…”

The words hung in the air as silence once again took over. Roberta Flack sang _It Might Be You_ and Erin needed a cigarette. All she wanted to do was calm her churning stomach. She wanted to know why it was churning. She had no idea what would happen if she turned out to be pregnant.

It just couldn’t be. Why was she even going through this? Teetering between wanting to seriously know what Dave was thinking and fearing she couldn’t handle it, Erin cracked the window. She scrounged a cigarette from the pack in her purse and lit it. Dave watched her from the corner of his eye.

“Should you be doing that?” he asked.

“I'm unnerved, David, steps from unhinged. I don't know what else to do. You have to let me do this. If I'm…it might be a long time before I can again.”

He nodded, not liking it but accepting it. He’d known her for so many years but had never seen her so unlike herself. All he wanted to do was get home and hold her in his arms. Whatever happened, whatever the result, Dave was going to hold on.

***

The test sat on the edge of the sink, judging her, as Erin tried to shake off Strauss and her day. She took off the gray business suit, blouse, pumps, and stockings. After pulling out her blue comfy lounge pants and the CCNY shirt she stole from David ages ago, Erin looked at herself in the mirror. She brushed her hair, pulled it back into a ponytail, and washed her face. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the test, closed her eyes, and opened them.

In the bedroom, Dave changed out of his work clothes and into pajamas. He lay on the bed with Mudgie, who was happy to see him. Petting the dog calmed him down since he had no idea what was happening behind the closed bathroom door. Everything was too quiet and Dave needed noise.

He almost considered throwing his glass of scotch down on the floor just to hear the tumbler shatter. That would be better than the silence. Eventually, Erin emerged, her face completely neutral. She sat on the edge of the bed beside him and stroked his arm.

“It’s negative.”

“Are you OK, baby?”

“OK? I'm fuckin ecstatic. Dear God, David, my life was about to turn into an episode of _Another World_. I could not be pregnant; that would’ve been insane.”

“Didn’t some fun things flash through your mind?” he asked.

“Fun things like what?”

“Would the baby look more like you or I, for instance. What would we have named him or her? Did you want a boy or a girl? How nice it would feel to cuddle a little one and smell their skin.”

“David Rossi,” she caressed his face. “You're a sentimental fool.”

“It must be an Italian thing.”

Dave kissed her before pulling her body to his. Erin held on tight, letting a few tears fall. She didn’t know if she was happy, sad, or balancing on the center line. She couldn’t admit that to Dave. Of course she’d thought about those things. It was inevitable when you thought you might be pregnant no matter how terrifying the prospect was. Erin sighed as he stroked her hair.

“I'm still craving marshmallows.” She said.

“I'm thinking it’s about time you had a S’More.” He replied. “We need to do that before you hate them again.”

“I hate them now; I can't explain the craving.”

“The best thing to do with a craving is to indulge it, Agent Strauss. I have some in the kitchen.”

“I guess we can use the emergency Hershey bar I keep in the nightstand drawer.” Erin said.

“That’s the spirit, baby.”

He climbed off the bed, holding out his hands. Erin grabbed him and didn’t want to let go.

“I love you, Dave.”

“I love you too. It’s been a crazy couple of days for both of us. Let’s do something spontaneous and put everything else behind us.”

“I have to say S’Mores near midnight is pretty spontaneous.” She said.

“I know, right? Don’t you love it?” he grinned.

“And I’ll call my doctor in the morning for an appointment. Just to make sure that everything is alright.”

“That’s good.” Dave kissed her temple. “I’ll sleep in and pretend I'm retired from the FBI again.”

“If this makes me sick you're staying up with me until I feel better.”

“You're going to love this.” He said as they walked out of the room with their arms around each other. “Believe me baby, I've got something even more awesome to keep you up late.”

“It’s already late, and you're insatiable, David Rossi.” Erin laughed.

“Damn skippy. You bring out the best in me. That’s why we’re so good together.”

“It’s not just the hot sex?”

“Shh, allow me my fantasy woman.”

Erin smiled, knowing that she would. He allowed her all of hers; always pulled Erin out of the supposed safety of the brick wall she’d built around herself. Everything from marshmallows to pregnancy scares, Dave was at her side making sure she was alright. And _that’s_ why they were so good together.

***

  



End file.
